This is a blog about a dog. A guide dog to be. For the next 3 years we will follow Ziva through the trial and tribulations of becoming a guide dog for the blind.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Learning about Life

Ziva has been busy learning about life and still nothing seems to phase her. She and I took a posse of boys to a rock climbing wall. For about five minutes her eyes were glued to Marten as he scaled the wall (good practice for looking up!) but soon she conked out, enjoying the air conditioning and padded floor. Little did she realize that she was just resting up for a trip to the VERY NOISY arcade. She was far, far more calm and relaxed in the arcade than I was. I wanted to RUN! She has been attending fencing lessons. She must really wonder about some of the crazy things people do.

We took Ziva to the Austin Children's Museum where she was entertained by parachuting plastic piggies for about five minutes, until she fell asleep.

She was spayed in April. Despite a day of feeling miserable, she recovered very quickly - maybe too quickly. Two days after her surgery, with very fresh stitches in her abdomen, she was in the yard taking care of her business. The phone rang, I ran in to grab the phone and brought the phone out seconds later. Ziva was gone! She and the yellow lab next door broke a very small hole in the fence and Ziva with her fresh stitches slithered through. Ziva was quickly apprehended. She was unscathed (thank goodness), but it took me a while to recover.

Ziva has discovered water and loves to romp in the nearby creek. It is a great chance for us to practice recall with the whistle. When she can't be in the water, she likes to be in her water dish. She even likes to sleep with her head resting on the edge of the dish. One night, during dinner (the people dinner), we started to hear a bubbling noise - Ziva's snout slipped into the water and she was blowing bubbles. She was saved from drowning by our noisy laughing.

Ziva is proving herself to be a very calm, laid-back dog. This evening she had her nostrils thoroughly examined by a one-year-old. Although she was quickly rescued, I think she was rather enjoying the attention. She and little Leah continued to follow each other around all evening.

The care and training of Ziva and the other guide dog puppies is expensive. In an effort to raise funds to provide amazing dogs to people who need them, Guide Dogs of Texas has explored many methods of fundraising. Recently, a guide dog iPhone application (scratch the sleeping puppy's belly until his leg shakes, pet the dog until he licks your iPhone screen) has become available. Guide Dogs of Texas will receive $1 for every download. Here is a link for more information http://www.wacotrib.com/search/content/news/stories/2009/04/23/04232009waciPhoneapps.html